Florida Surpasses 33,000 COVID-19 Deaths, Nears 2 Million Cases

As Florida inched closer to 2 million COVID-19 cases, the state's death toll related to the disease has surpassed 33,000.

The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday reported 4,791 more people tested positive for the coronavirus since the previous day.

Close to a third of the 102 deaths the state recorded on Tuesday occurred in the greater Tampa Bay Region, which also accounted for 16 of the 25 new COVID-related hospitalizations in the state.

The state reported a significant increase in the number of tests returned on Monday compared to the previous day. The percent positivity rate for new cases was lower than Sunday, but still hovering near 6 percent.

However, Brevard County reported a positivity rate of 12.4%. Sumter County's positivity rate has been above 10% for two days.

The average number of new cases per day is down 16% this week compared to last, according to data from Johns Hopkins University analyzed by NPR.
More than 4.3 million people have received a coronavirus vaccine in the state.
About 2.4 million of them are fully vaccinated, meaning they have either received both doses of Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine, or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot.

Information from WMFE was used in this report.

State Totals (as of Tuesday, March 16)

• Positive Tests – 1,984,424
• Deaths – 33,061

Daily Changes:

• State: Positive Tests – 4,791 | Deaths – 102
• Greater Tampa Bay region: Positive Tests – 955 | Deaths – 33

Daily Testing (statewide):

• Tests Received - 96,878| Positivity Rate – 5.95%

ABOUT THE DATA: The Florida Department of Health produces a daily update around 11 a.m. with information about COVID-19 cases and deaths that were reported over the previous 24 hours. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state separately tracks cases and deaths that occurred on specific days on its dashboard and those totals are frequently updated.

Florida COVID-19 daily total of positive tests/deaths for the last two weeks:

• March 16: 4,791/102
• March 15: 2,826/99
• March 14: 3,699/31
• March 13: 5,244/85
• March 12: 5,214/105
• March 11: 5,065/96
• March 10: 4,853/62
• March 9: 4,426/132
• March 8: 3,312/83
• March 7: 4,098/66
• March 6: 4,690/107
• March 5: 5,975/138
• March 4: 6,118/126
• March 3: 6,014/133

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